Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
| Published | April 2013 |
| Conference | LAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge Pages 170-179 |
| Country | United States, North America |
ABSTRACT
As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs. Learners are classified based on their patterns of interaction with video lectures and assessments, the primary features of most MOOCs to date.In an analysis of three computer science MOOCs, the classifier consistently identifies four prototypical trajectories of engagement. The most notable of these is the learners who stay engaged through the course without taking assessments. These trajectories are also a useful framework for the comparison of learner engagement between different course structures or instructional approaches. We compare learners in each trajectory and course across demographics, forum participation, video access, and reports of overall experience. These results inform a discussion of future interventions, research, and design directions for MOOCs. Potential improvements to the classification mechanism are also discussed, including the introduction of more fine-grained analytics.
| Keywords | MOOC · learner engagement · trajectories of engagement |
| Published at | California |
| Language | English |
| Refereed | Yes |
| DOI | 10.1145/2460296.2460330 |
| Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
Viewed by 417 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.
Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' ...
Match: schneider, emily
MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of
learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: mooc; united states
Lessons learned from participating in a connectivist Massive Online Open Course (MOOC)
Levy, Dalit
This paper aims to shed light on an emergent kind of learning occurring as
part of participating in global open on
line courses. Participants voluntarily
jump into an ocean of co
mplexity and fractal nature
, yet are ...
Match: mooc
MOOCs and the funnel of participation
Clow, Doug
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are growing substantially in numbers, and also in interest from the educational community. MOOCs offer particular challenges for what is becoming accepted as mainstream practice in ...
Match: mooc
Social network analysis of MOOC learners' knowledge building
Xu, Liujie; Wang, Fancong; Yu, Bo; Yu, Shengquan; et al.
With the development of information and communication technology, a variety of online platforms began to provide support for mobile learning. Some MOOC platforms provide terminal apps. Learners can use smart phones, ...
Match: mooc
Merging MOOC and mLearning for increased learner interactions
de Waard, Inge; Koutropoulos, Apostolos; Hogue, Rebecca J.; Abajian, Sean C.; et al.
In this paper, the authors suggest the merger of the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) format and mobile learning (mLearning) based on mutual affordances of both contemporary learning/teaching formats to investigate ...
Match: mooc
Who are the open learners? A comparative study profiling non-formal users of open educational resources
Farrow, Rob; de los Arcos, Beatriz; Pitt, R.; Weller, M.
Open educational resources (OER) have been identified as having the potential to extend opportunities for learning to non-formal learners. However, little research has been conducted into the impact of OER on non-formal ...
Match: mooc
Shared task on prediction of dropout over time in Massively Open Online Courses
Rosé, Carolyn P.; Siemens, George
The shared task on Prediction of Dropout Over Time in MOOCs involves analysis of data from 6 MOOCs offered through Coursera. Data from one MOOC with approximately 30K students was distributed as training data and ...
Match: mooc
Starting MOOCs in African university: The experience of Cadi Ayyad University, process, review, recommendations, and prospects
Jouicha, Abdellah Idrissi; Berrada, Khalid; Bendaoud, Rachid; Machwate, Said; et al.
The increasing number of enlistees claiming their right to enroll in the programs of African Universities and the limited number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were the prime reasons of students overcrowding in ...
Match: mooc
Experts debate the impact of MOOCs on education - US News
Haynie, Devon
The large online courses are forcing instructors to rethink classroom approaches, but major changes won't be seen for years, experts say.
Match: mooc









